The Colts announced that they've agreed to terms with former Broncos linebacker Nate Irving. According to Josina Anderson, it's a three-year deal worth "up to $9.25M." Of course, all that matters there are the guarantees and the base value, but either way, Irving is gone, and probably for far more than Denver would have paid him.
Denver agreed with a presumable replacement for Irving on Thursday, to the tune of a minimum-salary one-year deal with Reggie Walker.
Drafted by Denver in the third round of the 2011 Draft, Irving never quite lived up to expectations, but showed his best football last season, when he got his first extended play as a starter. The NC State alum graded out at plus-1.1 over 353 snaps in eight starts, but a knee injury cut his Broncos career short.
In 54 games (12 starts) over four seasons, Irving totaled 104 tackles, two sacks, and a safety. He had also visited with Arizona earlier during free agency.
Denver has now lost five former starters this offseason, four of them from their 2011 draft class (Orlando Franklin, Julius Thomas, Rahim Moore). Terrance Knighton, Mitch Unrein, and Jacob Tamme were the other losses.
Their only remaining unrestricted free agents are Quinton Carter, Will Montgomery, and Wes Welker. None of the three have had any reported visits elsewhere.